SOCIAL Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), the lead government agency that administers socialized housing programs for low-income families, has extended financial assistance to another batch of partner-homeowners who lost their jobs or whose livelihood was affected by the COVID- 19 pandemic.
SHFC Program Development and Enhancement Department Vice President Atty. Maria Rosalie Richa Taguian and Insurance and Community Enhancement Division Manager Cezar Macaspac personally handed the cash assistance of P10,000 to the 27 beneficiaries in a ceremony held at the agency’s head office in Makati on December 3.
The recipients came from the agency’s various Community Mortgage Program (CMP) housing sites, including Muntinlupa, Quezon City, and Pasay. They have passed the strict pre-screening process and attended a financial literacy training to ensure that the cash aid will be properly used to start their livelihood.
“Ako po ay nagpapasalamat dahil kasama ako sa programang ito ng SHFC. Malaking tulong ito ngayon sa amin,” said Quirino Vargas, Sr. of Acacia Muntinlupa Homeowners’ Association. “Gagamitin ko itong puhunan sa pagtitinda ng barbecue para meron kaming kita pang gastos sa araw-araw.”
Margery Daiz of Sta. Rosa 1 Laurel Village in Marilao, Bulacan considered the cash aid one of the positive things that happened to their family this year. “Sobrang saya na may ganitong programa na talagang tumutulong na makapag-hanapbuhay ang mga kasapi nila ngayong may COVID-19,” she said.
More than 70 partner-homeowners from Bulacan, Pangasinan, Rizal, Camarines Norte, Iloilo, Mati, Davao City, and General Santos City have benefitted from the initiative since it was launched in September. A total of P5 million was set aside for the project.
SHFC also distributed financial assistance from its Gender and Development budget to more than 90 families from Marilao and Obando in Bulacan in September and over 100 families from Cavite and Pasay in June. It has allotted a total of P2 million to assist the marginalized men and women in its CMP communities, including senior citizens, PWDs, pregnant women, and single parents.
In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, SHFC continues with the provision of adequate housing, which has become even more crucial now given that viruses spread fast in congested informal settlements. To date, it has provided secured homes to more than 400,000 families through about P24 billion in loan assistance under the CMP.
SHFC is the lead agency assisting underprivileged communities in securing land tenure through shelter financing and development solutions by Building Adequate, Livable, Affordable, and Inclusive (BALAI) Filipino communities. For more info, call (+632) 7750-6337 or visit www.facebook.com/shfcph.
